Dyax Corp. and Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Sign Development and Commercialization Agreement for DX-88 Surgical Indications

Dyax will receive a $15 million upfront payment, an additional $2.5 million milestone payment in 2008 and is eligible to receive up to an additional $214 million in clinical, regulatory and sales-based milestone payments. Dyax is also entitled to receive tiered, double-digit royalties based on sales of DX-88 by Cubist. The agreement provides an option for Dyax to retain certain US co-promotion rights. Going forward, Cubist will be responsible for costs associated with the ongoing DX-88 on-pump cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) Phase 2 trial, known as Kalahari 1, as well as all further development costs associated with DX-88 in the licensed indications in the Cubist territory.

Dyax retains exclusive rights to DX-88 in all other indications, including its hereditary angioedema program, currently in its second Phase 3 trial, as well as for the manufacturing of DX-88. Dyax also plans to develop DX-88 in other angioedemas.

DX-88, a Dyax-discovered potent inhibitor of plasma kallikrein, is being tested in an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial (Kalahari 1) evaluating DX-88 in the prevention of blood loss during on-pump CTS, which includes coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) and heart valve and replacement procedures. The trial followed the completion of a Phase 1/2 proof-of-concept trial for the prevention of blood loss during high risk CABG surgery.